Insulting Fines

FINES FOR INSULTING SCHOOL TEACHERS?

A local government proposal provokes a heated discussion in Russia

By Stephen Wilson

 

The governor of the Ulyanoskoi region of Russia has recently proposed introducing a new law where anyone accused of insulting a teacher, would be subject to a fine. The size of this fine has yet to be clarified. This very proposal arises against a background where the Russian parliament has been discreetly passing a barrage of new laws where people found guilty of offending particular people such as war veterans, would be subject to not only severe fines {5 million rubles} but five years imprisonment. The most prominent legal case concerning 'insults' has been made by the government against Navalny who is being currently charged with offending war veterans. And anyone found insulting the president of Russia could face five years imprisonment as well as a heavy fine. And very few Russians are aware that at this moment of time a new law on Education {known by the highly misleading words 'Law on Enlightened activities} would rigidly define 'the boundaries of what can be taught within education programs'. All knowledge presented on such courses mustn't contradict the line laid down by the Ministry of Education and Science. If this law is passed then it can mean that many cultural and educational projects could not be permitted unless they had special permission or approval from officials. So we are witnessing a tense situation where the last vestiges of freedom of speech and academic freedom are being undermined in an imperceptive way. This is why some teachers should think carefully before welcoming any new laws which might appear, on the surface, to be protecting their dignity. It might just backfire!

 

Do we need such new laws? In the existing legal code of the Russian Federation there are already laws related to insulting people. Although there is no new law specifically designed to protect school teachers there exist such laws and punishments. Sergei Yamov, who was following the debate stated, 'You mustn't insult anyone. The punishment for insulting someone is fixed under article 5.61 of the Codex of the Russian Federation. But if you are going to make it an offence to insult teachers, why not turners, doctors and taxi drivers?" Svetlana Wilson stated, "You mustn't insult anyone and I think this law might be a good thing". Oksana Chebotareva, a Russian English teacher stated - "I agree with this proposal. It would help defend teachers against insults." 

However, a teacher of Russian, Olga Stefanova disagreed. 

"I don't think it is a good idea," she said. "Many children can't be held responsible for what they say. They say something impulsively without thinking. I know my two daughters often insult me without thinking. School teachers should expect to be insulted in doing their job. That is the kind of thing that comes with taking up such a profession. If the parents had to pay a fine they would take out their anger on the children and maybe beat them up".

 

Leonid Perlov, a representative of the teachers union 'Teacher', also expressed strong doubts. He stated, "It would be difficult to prove that someone insulted a teacher in the classroom. It is like when you have a blocked nose and you think the best means to treat it is to cut off your nose! I myself don't welcome such surveillance of every sneeze, every step I make and everything that happens in the classroom. The harm caused by this measure can be worse than the use."

 

However, it works both ways! How many adults have you encountered that speak about how their school teachers insulted them? A harmless fellow school student in my class was mocked in the classroom by a teacher who said he was 'an idiot'. A friend of mine called Ronald told me how his school teacher in Boness, Scotland taunted his ambition to become a singer. He went on to become a singer but still feels the insult long after the occasion. Would anyone suggest a law to protect school pupils from perceived insults? What constitutes an insult is often a grey matter. If someone told a teacher he had a big nose when he really has, would that be regarded as an insult? A lot of things people say are made on the spur of the moment or because the person may be in great physical and mental pain. Enforcing such a law might inadvertently worsen an already bad situation.

In the past during the 18th and 19th centuries people who felt insulted would often resort to a duel to resolve matters. This was an innovation of a Scottish general serving in the Russian army called Patrick Gordon. Far from resolving matters, dueling lead to the senseless deaths of two of Russia's greatest poets Lermontov and Pushkin. A duel between two legal contenders in court threatening each other with imprisonment is hardly more progressive than one with pistols. What if two war veterans insulted each other? Would you imprison both of them?

 

A teacher can resort to more effective ways of punishing students than fines or threats of imprisonment. Teachers have usually resorted to less extreme punishments such as informing parents, giving more homework or having a word with the pupil in private. But one of the biggest ways of punishing some pupils who have insulted you is to retort with kind words or even a compliment. For some reason, in some specific situations with particular students, this turns out to be more offensive than if the teacher responded with 'a zero tolerance approach'. But it often makes the student reflect on his or her actions. Why is this the case? Well, it is worth working out! I leave you to come to your own conclusions.